On Monday, the Netherlands Vehicles Authority, which has regulatory authority on behalf of the EU, said the Model 3 met requirements for European roads. Tesla had expected the approval, and opened online orders for some European countries earlier this month.

A Tesla spokesperson said deliveries of the Model 3 long-range variant are expected to start in February. The blog Electrek reported a cargo ship carrying more than 1,000 Model 3’s left San Francisco, possibly bound for Europe, a little over a week ago.

On Monday, Tesla tweeted a photo of “European Model 3s off the production line.”

Tesla is banking on its least-expensive car to be a hit in Europe, where electric-car sales surged last year. Tesla shares tumbled Friday on news that 7% of its workforce would be laid off as part of a cost-cutting effort, and reports of weaker fourth-quarter profit.

Europe is an important region in Tesla’s future plans, and CEO Elon Musk has said Germany is the leading site to build a European gigafactory to produce lithium-ion batteries for Tesla cars.

Tesla shares TSLA, -12.97% are down 9% year to date, compared to the S&P 500’s SPX, +1.32% 6.5% gain. Over the past year, Tesla is down 13.6%, while the S&P has declined about 5%.

The acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency has told the agency’s employees that the regulator will announce a plan within weeks to take the government-sponsored enterprises out of conservatorship. See full story.

MARKETWATCH PERSONAL FINANCE

Did her sibling bail her out? Or tell her to declare bankruptcy? Finally, an answer. See full story.

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]]>http://stockinvestors.net/newswatch-these-3-leading-economic-indicators-show-no-recession-is-coming/feed/0The Wall Street Journal: Facebook, Twitter are not complying with data laws, Russia sayshttp://stockinvestors.net/the-wall-street-journal-facebook-twitter-are-not-complying-with-data-laws-russia-says/
http://stockinvestors.net/the-wall-street-journal-facebook-twitter-are-not-complying-with-data-laws-russia-says/#respondMon, 21 Jan 2019 21:04:43 +0000http://stockinvestors.net/the-wall-street-journal-facebook-twitter-are-not-complying-with-data-laws-russia-says/Read more »]]>MOSCOW — Russia launched administrative action against Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. on Monday for failing to comply with its data laws, a move that comes just days after Facebook removed the accounts of what it said were two misinformation campaigns based in the country.

Communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, the federal executive body responsible for censorship in media and telecommunications, said the social-media networks hadn’t submitted any formal and specific plans or submitted an acceptable explanation of when they would meet the country’s requirements that all servers used to store Russians’ personal data be located in Russia. Roskomnadzor said it had sent the companies a letter on Dec. 17 advising them of the need to comply with the law and giving them 30 days to provide “a legally valid response,” Russian news agency Interfax reported.

As such, “Today, Roskomnadzor begins administrative proceedings against both companies,” the watchdog said.

Read: France fines Google $57 million for violating new EU data privacy law

The move raises concern that the social-media giants could face future restrictions or be blocked. On Thursday, Facebook FB, +1.17% said it would expand efforts to crack down on misuse of its service by removing some 500 pages and accounts linked to what it said were two Russia-based misinformation campaigns. Vadim Ampelonsky, a spokesman for Roskomnadzor, told the television channel Russia 24 that Facebook and Twitter TWTR, +1.28% could be fined for not providing information to the watchdog.

]]>http://stockinvestors.net/the-wall-street-journal-facebook-twitter-are-not-complying-with-data-laws-russia-says/feed/0The Wall Street Journal: Apollo may buy U.K. packaging company RPC for more than $3.8 billionhttp://stockinvestors.net/the-wall-street-journal-apollo-may-buy-u-k-packaging-company-rpc-for-more-than-3-8-billion/
http://stockinvestors.net/the-wall-street-journal-apollo-may-buy-u-k-packaging-company-rpc-for-more-than-3-8-billion/#respondMon, 21 Jan 2019 21:04:37 +0000http://stockinvestors.net/the-wall-street-journal-apollo-may-buy-u-k-packaging-company-rpc-for-more-than-3-8-billion/Read more »]]>Private-equity giant Apollo Global Management LLC APO, +2.40% is in advanced talks to acquire RPC Group PLC, one of Europe’s biggest packaging companies, for more than $3.8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

A deal could be announced as soon as Tuesday, marking the culmination of a protracted negotiation against the backdrop of mounting uncertainty over divorce talks between the European Union and the U.K., where RPC RPC, +0.25% is based.

Some bankers have suggested that political uncertainty and the resultant stock and currency-market volatility could crimp deal-making in the U.K., making it trickier for buyers and sellers to agree on a sale price. But the Apollo-RPC agreement offers further evidence that this view may be overly pessimistic for private-equity firms. Earlier this month, buyout firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice agreed to purchase a majority of U.K. catering operator WSH Investments Ltd. for $1 billion, including debt.

WhatsApp said it would limit to five the number of times a user could forward a message. Last year, the company put in place the five-message forwarding limit in India as a test. The platform was criticized heavily there after WhatsApp-spread messages were blamed for several killings.

The global rollout of the limit was disclosed in Indonesia, which faces a general election in April. Victoria Grand, WhatsApp’s vice president for policy and communications, speaking in Jakarta Monday, said the move was aimed at fighting “misinformation and rumors,” according to Reuters.

Some political analysts have said they worry social media, and allegations of fake news, could influence voters in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country. WhatsApp has been used extensively in Indonesian political campaigns, notably a gubernatorial election in Jakarta in 2017. The platform has been particularly vulnerable to criticism that it helps spread fake news.

]]>http://stockinvestors.net/the-wall-street-journal-facebooks-whatsapp-limits-ability-to-forward-messages-in-fake-news-crackdown/feed/0Hospitals must now list prices online, but good luck comparing prices on procedureshttp://stockinvestors.net/hospitals-must-now-list-prices-online-but-good-luck-comparing-prices-on-procedures/
http://stockinvestors.net/hospitals-must-now-list-prices-online-but-good-luck-comparing-prices-on-procedures/#respondMon, 21 Jan 2019 17:49:26 +0000http://stockinvestors.net/hospitals-must-now-list-prices-online-but-good-luck-comparing-prices-on-procedures/Read more »]]>As of Jan. 1, the Trump administration is requiring hospitals to publicly list standard charges for various procedures online to increase transparency around pricing, but for most people the listings might as well be written in another language.

“As far as the chargemasters being made available online they will be of very little use to the majority of patients,” said Caitlin Donovan, director and spokeswoman for National Patient Advocate Foundation, a nonprofit based in Virginia. “I doubt most hospitals went through to make these as consumer-friendly as possible.”

Chargemasters are essentially long lists of hospital prices by procedure. They are now listed by hospitals online, usually in the “insurance and billing” category.

Still, she said, the databases can serve as a starting point for consumers to compare baseline prices, which can vary widely. President Trump’s goal with the public listings: They will ultimately help foster competition between hospitals and lower prices, whether through consumers comparison shopping or advocates comparing prices on patients’ behalf.

Prices for up to 40% of medical services can be reduced by comparison shopping, an August 2018 study from researchers at Harvard, Yale, and Columbia Universities found. Despite this, fewer than 1% of patients used price transparency tools — websites or apps where patients can look up the cheapest price on a given procedure — to find the best price for services in advance of medical procedures.

Data shows how widely costs can vary in one city for the same procedure.

The new policy comes as health care costs are skyrocketing: in the past decade in the U.S., medical costs have increased 34%, outpacing income growth, which rose 20% over the same period, according to an analysis from personal-finance site NerdWallet.

It may take time for the transparency policy to have an effect on hospital prices. Donovan said the new policy will be useful immediately in one way: “Advocacy groups looking at and analyzing where we are systemically with hospital pricing,” she said.

Meanwhile, here are some ways to make better sense of the listings:

Talk to your health insurer

The price listed on the charge description master (CDM) represents the base price charged by the hospital for a health service, but it is rarely what a patient actually pays. Instead, patients should speak to their insurance company to find out the contracted rate the hospital charges the insurance carrier for the service and how much the patient needs to pay based on what has already been paid from their deductible.

Listings may include coding for different services that make very little sense to the average consumer, according to Donovan. Codes in one database at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, for example, read as “HC ARC PLT AB DRUG INCUBATION” ($931) and “HC ARC SEPARATION BY DENSITY GRADIENT RETICS” ($1095) and HC BME POST BM MONO ($1098). Those are incomprehensible to most people looking to compare prices, Donovan said. The best way to straighten out pricing dilemmas is to call your insurance company directly.

Explore the possibility of financial aid

If you have insurance, the best way to find prices is to call your insurance company directly. If you don’t, the CDM numbers may be a more accurate representation of what you actually have to pay, but in many cases you can also obtain financial aid from the hospital. Many hospitals will have a patient advocate or price-transparency officer you can speak with to find the exact cost of a procedure before going in to the facility.

Always keep in mind additional costs

The price of procedures listed in the chargemaster is just one small portion of what a patient is expected to pay to the hospital. For most procedures, other services are included in the final bill including “facility fees,” medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and drugs, patient dietary and laundry services, and other support services like financial counseling and social services.

Push for more comprehensive legislation

The debate over the usefulness of the CDM requirement underscores ongoing consumer and provider frustration with health-care billing, said Kristyn Brandi, an assistant professor at Rutgers University Medical School.

“It is confusing from both a provider and patient perspective to navigate a system where costs are not as up front as they should be for people to be able to make decisions that are in their best interests,” she said.

Doctors often do not have a say in what patients are charged, as hospitals and insurance companies set the prices, she added. New systems of health-care coverage are being introduced in federal and private systems could force insurance companies to cover more procedures and eliminate some of the confusion.

“It is difficult for doctors to deal with,” Brandi said. “We want to do what is best for our patients and recommend the services that are best for them — we don’t want to think of costs when it comes to patients’ lives.”

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]]>http://stockinvestors.net/hospitals-must-now-list-prices-online-but-good-luck-comparing-prices-on-procedures/feed/0Read this before signing up for an online college coursehttp://stockinvestors.net/read-this-before-signing-up-for-an-online-college-course/
http://stockinvestors.net/read-this-before-signing-up-for-an-online-college-course/#respondMon, 21 Jan 2019 17:49:21 +0000http://stockinvestors.net/read-this-before-signing-up-for-an-online-college-course/Read more »]]>Online courses aren’t living up to their promise to disrupt higher education.

That’s one conclusion from a pair of studies released this week analyzing trends and outcomes of different types of online learning opportunities.

The first, which focused on Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, offered by Harvard University and MIT, found that the majority of students taking these courses don’t return after their first year, that participation in the programs is largely concentrated in affluent countries and that the courses’ low completion rate hasn’t budged much in six years.

The second, a review of research on the outcomes of fully-online degree programs, found that on average, these programs have actually contributed to widening educational attainment gaps between well-off and low-income students without improving affordability.

It’s easy to see why historically some higher education leaders, policymakers and tech evangelists have been so bullish on the potential of online education to transform the college experience. Sitting through four years of classes at a university is expensive and can be challenging for students juggling jobs and childcare with their schoolwork — not to mention impossible for those living far away from a college or university.

Sitting through four years of classes at a university is expensive and can be challenging for students juggling jobs and childcare with their schoolwork — not to mention impossible for those living far from a college or university.

But the two reports published this week add to other evidence suggesting that online courses and degrees aren’t making it easier for working, low-income and other students who historically have struggled to get access to college to receive a quality education. Instead, in some cases they may be costing them time and money for a credential that doesn’t do much to help them move up the economic ladder.

“For all that technology can be helpful, often times the hard problems in education remain hard,” said Justin Reich, the executive director of MIT’s Teaching Systems Lab and a co-author of the MOOC study.

His research found that challenges retaining students have pushed MOOC providers to adjust their business model, which was largely based on the idea that though the courses offered on MOOC platforms are free, some students would eventually pay for a certificate or other document to prove their proficiency. Now, the companies are increasingly focused on partnering with graduate schools to serve as the technology platform for their online-degree programs.

That’s a far cry from the original vision for the courses touted by MOOC providers as an opportunity for students — no matter their economic circumstances or location — to access lectures from the world’s top professors.

These studies add to evidence suggesting that online courses and degrees aren’t making it easier for working, low-income and other students who historically have struggled to get access to a quality education.

One reason MOOC providers are shifting their business model to cater to graduate students: “Those seem to be learners who are a natural fit for who would be successful in MOOC learning environments,” Reich said. “Self-regulated learning on your own is really hard. Often times, people who are most successful are those who have an apprenticeship in the formal education system.”

And yet, the students who are the most at-risk of struggling to make it through online coursework are those most likely to wind up in an online degree program, according to Baum’s report. Roughly one-quarter of students who are enrolled in online degree programs have four or more risk factors for not completing their education, such long periods of time between high school and college, part-time enrollment or having GED instead of a high school diploma.

Just 1% of students with no risk factors for completing a degree are enrolled in fully online degree programs, the report found. What’s more, online degree programs are particularly common in the for-profit college sector, which is often associated with poor outcomes. For-profit colleges enroll just 6% of students overall, but 24% of students in online-only degree programs, according to the report.

“Students who don’t have a strong K-12 background, who haven’t already been exposed to really developing their learning processes, they’re going to be more vulnerable,” Baum said. She’s not advocating dropping online courses altogether, however. “We’re suggesting that you figure out how to integrate technology with the important personal interaction that people need.”

Baum said she’s particularly concerned that Trump administration officials may be looking to water down regulations requiring that online degree programs feature substantial interaction with professors. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has proposed regulatory changes that would make it easier for non-traditional programs, such as those offered only online, to access federal financial aid.

“People are hoping that technology will be the cure all,” Baum said. “Caution about this is just terrifically important. We know that a lot of students are paying a lot of money to go to institutions where they have very little chance of succeeding and if they do succeed in earning credentials they’re not necessarily credentials with labor market value.”

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FILE PHOTO: People walk through the financial district during rainy weather in London, Britain, September 23, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

BlackRock (BLK.N), the world’s largest money manager, and industry No. 3 State Street (STT.N) announced job cuts this month after the worst year for many stock indexes since the financial crisis and losses across most other financial assets. Hedge funds AQR Capital and Balyasny Capital took similar steps.

“It will be a common industry trend,” said Kyle Sanders, an analyst with financial services firm Edward Jones.

“When markets go down, the first place asset managers look to cut costs is with headcount.” Until last year, rising markets – buoyed by easy money from central banks – had helped keep fund managers comfortably afloat, with many enjoying profit margins of 20-40 percent, even though fees have fallen.

For an interactive version of the below graphic, click here tmsnrt.rs/2RUbOqo.

But the prospect of tighter monetary policy and concerns around economic growth saw $168.1 billion drained from mutual funds globally in the final quarter of 2018, data from Lipper at Refinitiv showed.

For an interactive version of the below graphic, click here tmsnrt.rs/2HhyNYA.

GRAPHIC: Tough end to Q4 for many asset managers png – tmsnrt.rs/2HhH0Mq

Early January saw some money return to equity markets but it is too early to say if that will be sustained. In the meantime, without market performance to bolster their assets under management, investment managers’ revenues, largely based on charging a fee on those assets, will suffer.

BlackRock, State Street and Balyasny Capital declined to comment. Claudia Gray, a spokeswoman for AQR Capital, said the company had experienced record growth in staffing over the past three years.

“Recent small reductions in headcount reflect the need to balance our workforce growth with the current needs of our business,” Gray said in a statement.

CONSOLIDATION DRIVE

If market volatility prompts more investors to pull their money it will compound existing pressure on asset managers from increased competition, particularly from cheaper index-tracking products that have driven down fees. Tougher regulations and investments in technology and data have also inflated costs with compliance managers and data specialists continuing to be hired.

Despite plans to cut 3 percent of its global workforce, BlackRock has said its staffing levels would be 4 percent higher this year as it invests in other areas, including technology.

Elsewhere, the cost-cutting pressure is particularly acute for smaller asset managers which lack the heft to compete on price against behemoths such as BlackRock, which has nearly $6 trillion in assets under management.

Smaller companies will have to go further to shore up their bottom line and, in addition to firing staff, may look to join forces with larger rivals to help share mid- and back-office costs, accelerating a trend begun over the last few years.

A total of 915 deals with a combined value of $50 billion were sealed last year, two thirds more valuable than in 2017, Refinitiv data showed, including Invesco’s (IVZ.N) $5.7 billion acquisition of OppenheimerFunds.

For an interactive version of the below graphic, click here tmsnrt.rs/2RMjXNO.

GRAPHIC: Asset management M&A png – tmsnrt.rs/2RW2Adg

That trend is expected to accelerate, particularly in Europe, where listed asset managers’ share prices have been hit hard, and banks and insurers, which held onto their asset management arms during the financial crisis, may be more tempted to sell.

“As the value… is declining, potential sellers may be more inclined to close a deal, leading to increased consolidation,” said Christian Edelmann, head of global banking and wealth & asset management at consultants Oliver Wyman.

]]>http://stockinvestors.net/asset-managers-brace-for-more-job-cuts-amid-market-turbulence/feed/0Brexit Brief: Will parliament take back control?http://stockinvestors.net/brexit-brief-will-parliament-take-back-control/
http://stockinvestors.net/brexit-brief-will-parliament-take-back-control/#respondMon, 21 Jan 2019 15:19:25 +0000http://stockinvestors.net/brexit-brief-will-parliament-take-back-control/Read more »]]>The U.K. government wants to postpone its March 29 exit from the European Union, but Prime Minister Theresa May cannot say so openly, according to one of the senior parliamentarians.

Yvette Cooper, the chair of parliament’s Home Affairs committee, is leading a new effort within the U.K. legislature to get a postponement. She told the BBC this morning she believes May and other government ministers privately support the idea.

The UK’s Brexit policy is essentially deadlocked following the prime minister’s crushing defeat on her Brexit plans on January 15. Cooper, a politician from the UK’s opposition Labour Party, will put her proposal to parliament today, after a scheduled address from May on what her next steps will be.

Another proposal, from pro-European rebel Conservative Dominic Grieve, would give parliament the power to hold a series of “indicative votes” to determine what form of Brexit could command majority support.

The pound was trading largely flat this morning, as May faces her latest parliamentary showdown. The British currency fell 0.02% to $1.2871 as of 12:51 GMT.

The days ahead: what to watch for…

Monday, Jan 21: Theresa May’s statement in Parliament on how she will proceed after the defeat of her Brexit plans. It is expected she will seek further concessions from the EU, and present her plans again, but EU politicians have indicated they will hold firm. And during the week ahead, MPs will now have the opportunity to put their own proposals.

Tuesday, Jan 29: MPs will vote on May’s proposal and others. The U.K. parliament is believed to have a majority against the idea of crashing out of the EU without any withdrawal agreement in place, with many MPs fearing serious economic disruption.

On January 8, a thin majority of MPs voted against giving the government extra money to prepare for such a “no deal” outcome – a symbolic vote intended to demonstrate this majority exists. That could also produce a vote in favor of Cooper’s proposal to delay. But “no deal” remains the default outcome on March 29 if no other steps are taken.

The British pound GBPUSD, -0.0544% was steady at $1.2872 from $1.2986 late in New York on Friday. Meanwhile, the euro EURUSD, -0.0176% dipped to o$1.1371 from $1.1392.

What’s driving the markets?

Chinese government officials on Monday announced that economy expanded by 6.6% over 2018, down from 2017’s 6.9%, the slowest annual pace China has recorded since 1990. The trade conflict with Washington adds to this gloom, with the uncertainty over a trade-truce stunting investment in Chinese exporters.

In the U.S., the White House and congressional Democrats are each putting forward new proposals to end the partial government shutdown, however discrepancy over key issues remains, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In Switzerland, the World Economic Forum kicked off, with its founder, Klaus Schwab, saying that President Donald Trump would have been an “interesting discussion partner” at its annual Davos event, but acknowledged that the partial U.S. government shutdown scuttled those plans.

In the U.K., Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to try Reuters to try to crack the political stalemate over the Brexit by outlining proposals in parliament that are expected to focus on winning more concessions from the European Union. However, given the rejection of May’s deal and the lack of clarity over the options available to the U.K. government, it seems more likely that Britain’s exit from the European Union will be delayed beyond March 29.

What stocks are active?

William Hill PLC WMH, -2.90% dropped 3%, after warning it expects to adjust its operating profit for 2018 to fall 15% on year, however this drop would be in line with previous guidance.

Home improvement retailer Kingfisher PLC KGF, -3.79% lost just under 4% and Demark’s Pandora A/S PNDORA, -0.44% dropped by almost 3%.